NELSON K
Kabatabazi Hanifa, a 40-year-old resident of Rusese Village, Rukungu Parish in Bwera Sub-county, Kasese District, has reached out to Boona Radio seeking help in tracing her late father’s origins and reuniting with the Bakimbiri clan in Rukungiri District.
Hanifa, a single mother of seven currently working abroad in Saudi Arabia, says she has never fully known her father’s family. Her father, the late Byaruhanga John, passed away in 1996 and was buried at Kayanja in Kasese District, where he worked as a fisherman at Lake George.
According to Hanifa, Byaruhanga John abandoned the family when she was just three years old. He returned briefly in 1992 when she was seven to assist with her school fees, but passed away four years later. Following his death, Hanifa and her younger sister Biira Jennifer were raised by their mother, Kahindo Suzaana, in Rusese Village.
Hanifa says she has long felt a void due to not knowing her father’s clan. Information from her mother suggests that Byaruhanga John belonged to the Bakimbiri clan, which is currently based in Rukungiri District. She believes he may have migrated from Rukungiri to Kasese for work as a fisherman.
“The fact that we do not know our father’s family has affected us emotionally,” Hanifa said. “I feel it is time to reconnect and know my roots, not only for myself but for my children and my late father’s legacy.”
Hanifa is appealing to all Rukungiri residents, particularly members of the Bakimbiri clan, and anyone who knew the late Byarugaba John, to come forward. She urges them to contact Boona Radio to help facilitate the reunion with her father’s family.
Boona Radio continues to encourage community members to assist in reuniting families and preserving cultural connections across districts.
